Life on Berk
by Watcher of the Hearts
Summary: A new story for HTTYD. The sets of adventures our friends on Berk have. Rated T for just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first HTTYD story. I hope it's all right, I liked it anyway. :) **

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><p><strong> Chapter 1<strong>

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><p>It had been but six short months since the island of Berk learned the <em>real<em> truth about dragons, since the "queen" of the dragons had been taken down…and since a young boy had become a hero.

Said boy was currently sitting on a stool in the forgery, tinkering away at a new version of his prosthetic leg. He had already built and tested several prototypes, trying for one that was strong, yet light and comfortable, and so far was having very little luck. Hiccup was an extraordinarily bright boy, his mentor Gobber often bragged about his talents; proud that Hiccup's ideas surpassed his own. Hiccup, however, was growing very frustrated, that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't find something that was actually comfortable and functional.

He stared at the prosthetic before him, it's metal and spring body for the leg and foot, the padded cushion and fur top for his…nub. He gave a sad sigh as he placed it on his leg, slowing standing up. His best dragon friend was lazing in the corner near the fire, and lifted one eye open, following Hiccup with a cautious watch. Hiccup took a few slow and cautious steps, pleased with the cushioning. He attempted more weight on the leg.

"Well… it's not so bad.." he took a few more brave steps, when suddenly a pain like fire tore through his leg. He fell forward with a yelp, catching himself with his arms just in time. Toothless had hurried over, looking to his friend worriedly.

"I'm okay… I'm okay…thanks bud." He patted the head of the large reptile who had helped him back to his feet, sitting on his stool once more. He threw the contraption back on the table, looking at the belts he had used to connect it on his leg.

"This is never gonna work! I'm so stupid!" he slammed his fists to the table, a flash of bright red catching his eye. He gazed to Toothless's tail, frowning with thought.

"Well I wouldn't exactly say _stupid_." A teasing voice rang out from the door, sending Hiccup into a jump once more.

"A-Astrid! Hi.. Hi Astrid…Hi.."

The blonde girl before him smirked, sauntering over to his table.

"I think we covered that. Are you okay? I was walking over and thought I heard you yell."

"I'm fine. Just working on turning myself into the metal man." He waved at the prosthetic, sighing in frustration.

"Hey, I think that's one of your best ones yet!" she smiled encouragingly, placing a hand on it to examine it. "I see you started using the belt idea like with Toothless' tail."

"Now if It'd just stop falling on my face." He went back to tinkering with the springs that played his ankle, brow furrowed.

"Hiccup… this is all new, you can't expect to be perfect at it right away. That's why Gobber built you that crutch you know, for you to _learn_ with."

"Yea yea…now it just needs it to stop hur-.. I-I can always just become the village clown again. We know I'm awfully good at that." He managed a smirk, looking to her silvery-blue eyes.

"You don't have to do that you know.."

"Do? Do what? I'm not doing anything."

She sighed, hanging her head.

"Yes you are. You do it all the time when something is bothering you. You get sarcastic and just close yourself out from everyone."

"I don't do that."

"Hiccup, I've known you for years. _Yes_ you do." She placed her hands on her hips, staring at him. What she said rang true. Even when they were small children, if anyone picked on him, which was quite often back then, he made sarcastic remarks, or closed himself out, staying quiet, not sharing any words with anyone.

She realized somewhere as they grew older that making fun of him wasn't right, that maybe he didn't deserve it, and that maybe he just needed a friend. But her stubborn Viking pride hadn't allowed her to do that. She stayed back instead, letting the others tease and jeer, but never saying anything herself. It had only been in the past months she let herself really open up and express just how she felt about him, and her feelings grew more and more with each passing day.

He stopped what he was doing, slowly placing the tools back down onto the table, his hands resting there. He kept his eyes away from the blonde girl next to him, breathing a heavy sigh.

"I just don't want to disappoint anybody. That's why I don't let anyone know when my leg hurts… or when I just want to scream out in pain..or cry. I feel like if I show them that I'm weak that they'll all just think I'm…_useless."_

_ "_Hiccup…no one would think that. You're a hero, you saved us all."

"Hah-some hero. I lost half my leg."

"That doesn't make you any less of a hero Hiccup." Her voice was sharp, gaining his eyes to look in her direction. "We know…we know that how we treated you in the past was wrong, and we are all sorry. But you are _not_ useless Hiccup. Just look how far you've come!" she motioned to his leg, his eyes moving to the contraption resting on the table.

"Yea…real far." He rolled his eyes, wiggling a finger in mock celebration.

"I know your father's really proud of you." He only shrugged, not responding. Slowly she reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And…I'm really proud of you."

"You are?"

"Of course I am! Look at everything you've done Hiccup. You're the first Viking to ever ride a dragon, a Night Fury! You taught us that we were wrong about dragons, and you saved us from the Red Death. And, you've come so far since then…with your leg, and…everything." She blushed lightly, and Hiccup knew she was referring to his newfound confidence with people, and with her. He reached up, placing a hand over hers to give it a light squeeze.

"Thanks Astrid.." he sighed, lowering his hand as he looked back to the new leg in front of him. He heard the sound of wood dragging against wood as Astrid pulled up a stool next to his, sitting down.

"D-does it hurt?" she placed a gentle hand on his knee.

"Sometimes. It's not as bad as it used to be. It gets the worst at night...when I'm trying to sleep." He was both surprised and grateful when he felt a smaller, smooth hand taking his own. Astrid was rarely one to show her affection, granted she was getting more open with it as time went on, and he was glad for the times she would display her affection for him.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you."

"Hiccup, you have to know by now that you can tell me anything."

The boy smirked, shaking his head.

"I guess I'm still getting used to that fact."

"Well get used to it dummy, 'cause it's not about to change anytime soon. Now come on, I came here for lunch and I'm ready to eat."

Hiccup chuckled softly, setting about putting the leg on. Astrid had waited until he was set before sending a sharp punch into his arm.

"That's for keeping secrets" Hiccup smirked, knowing full well what was to follow as she pulled him into a deep kiss, her hand still curled into his collar as she pulled away, her voice soft.

"_that's_..for everything else."

Slowly the two made their way out

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><p><strong>Well, what do you think? :) Oh, and if anyone is wondering, when I mentioned Astrid's reluctance to tease Hiccup, it came from a scene in the movie when all the other teens are making fun of him Astrid is just sitting back on a rock, with a rather sympathetic look on her face. <strong>

**RxR please :)  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hurray! It's a new chapter! I technically SHOULD be writing a term paper right now buut..that's boring lol. Its those last few weeks of the semester so free writing time is limited lately.. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

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><p>"And you've got yer dagger?"<p>

"Yes Dad."

"And your sleeping bag?"

"_Yes_ Dad.."

"And an extra leg?"

"Dad! I'm going camping just up in the woods… for _two _nights…we aren't going away forever."

Stoick sighed, smiling as he shook his head.

"I know son… I can't help being a father." He patted his son's shoulder, causing him to stumble.

"Thanks…Dad. I'll see you later." Hiccup nodded towards his father before heading out the door, meeting with Astrid who had been waiting just outside his house to walk together to the Mead Hall to meet their friends. He shifted the bags on his back, one clearly had the things he would need for overnight, the other a long thin one. Astrid eyed it, guessing that it probably held an extra fin for Toothless for just in case events. Hiccup waited until they were out of earshot before finally speaking.

"I dunno what's worse, when he ignores me or when he's overprotective."

Astrid smirked, nudging Hiccup's arm.

"You know he only cares about you."

"Yea…still getting used to that fact. It seems like I can't even walk out the door without him thinking I'm going to lose another leg." He laughed, looking to Astrid who smiled back. Their attention was quickly diverted by a tangle of arms and legs that could only be Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Fishlegs stood nervously by, wringing his hands.

"Hey there Hiccup…Astrid."

"What are they fighting about now?" Astrid nodded to the blonde tangle of limbs and shouts.

"Something about Tuffnut taking Ruffnut's sleeping bag…I think." The nervous boy shuffled his feet, watching as the twins continued to fight. Astrid dropped her bags to the ground with a sigh, pulling the two apart.

"All right, that's enough. We should get going."

A throaty purr sounded behind them as Toothless appeared from behind the hall, clearly excited for their camping trip. The group knew that the Night Fury wouldn't let them go off and have all the fun without them, and accepted that fact. Their dragons were all comfortably resting in other places, but they knew it would be helpful to at least have one dragon around for protection. Toothless nudged his head under Hiccup's arm, begging to have his ears scratched. The boy complied as he looked around his group of friends.

"Well where's Snotlout?"

Astrid rolled her eyes, heaving her bags back onto her shoulders.

"Does it even matter?" It was no secret that she wasn't pleased with the teen in question. Even though it had been clear for months that she and Hiccup were involved, Snotlout did not give up his efforts of flirting with her, even if it were merely for the sake of looking macho in front of her.

"Well hey hey there everybody. Let's get this show on the road." Snotlout was, as always, overly confident, as he strolled through and past the group, heading towards the woods. Hiccup smirked as he reached forward to squeeze Astrid's free hand, her other one currently busy with strangling the wood of her axe, most likely imagining it to be Snotlout's neck.

By the time the tent was up, the fish caught, cooked and eaten, the sun was already going down. Hiccup cast a glance around his circle of friends as they continued to eat, turning to Toothless.

"Come on buddy…let's go for a walk."

Hiccup waited until he felt that they were fair enough away before placing his tube of a bag down on the ground, patting Toothless' head as the dragon curled up in a patch of all too recently burnt grass. Unscrewing the top of the tube and dropping it to the ground, Hiccup reached in, pulling out a sleek bow, pulling the string taut. He strung an arrow on, relishing in the silence of the forest around him when he pulled back, aiming. He took in a breath, ready to release when a voice sounded behind him, resulting in a far too high pitched screech escaping from his throat as the arrow released, whizzing into the woods. Hiccup turned, attempting to hide the bow behind his back.

"Astrid! I-I didn't hear you coming…"

"I followed you the whole way." She crossed her arms, her face clearly proud at her ability to follow so silently. "You know, you have some _very_ weird conversations with your dragon…" she took a seat next to the reptile, leaning against his side. He barely moved except to rest his head on her leg. Toothless had become quite fond of Astrid since that battle all those months ago, and even more so in her efforts to help Hiccup. The blonde turned her gaze back to her teen counterpart, smirking at his attempts to hide the bow.

"Can you actually use that thing?"

"Oh…this old thing?" he moved it in front of him, holding it gently in his palms. "…It was something I learned from Mom... It was sort of our thing before she…" he cleared his throat, casting his gaze back to his girlfriend.

"Do you think you could show me?" Astrid's voice was quiet, softer than normal from the depressing topic that still hung in the air. Hiccup's eyes opened in surprise, the words stammering around in his mouth before he could finally manage a meek "okay". He strung another arrow, inhaling deeply as he aimed. Astrid silently admired the natural fluidity with which Hiccup moved. He held his aim before finally releasing with an exhale, the arrow quietly whizzing through the air before landing in the trunk of a tree. Astrid grinned,

"Not bad… and hey; you didn't miss!" she teased him, standing up. She took a second glance at his face… was it actually _smug?_ He leaned against his bow, nodding his head for the direction of the tree.

"Why don't you take a closer look?"

Astrid shot a confused glance from Hiccup to the tree, finally walking over. It slowly registered in her brain as she looked to exactly where the arrow had landed.

"…A fly? You pinned a fly." She turned back to watch Hiccup shrug, placing the now unstrung bow back into the tube at his feet. "Hiccup! Why haven't you told anyone about this? You didn't even tell me about this!

"What's to tell? So I can shoot an arrow."

"_Shoot _an arrow? Hiccup! You've got better aim than even me! I mean, we knew you could shoot that net thing of yours, but this!" Astrid motioned to the tree the arrow was still stuck in. At the word "net" Toothless had grumbled slightly, coiling his tail around himself. Astrid kept her eyes locked on Hiccup, examining his face. There were many secrets and talents Astrid knew that Hiccup had; his obviously ability at inventing; his ability to cook and sew; his ability to draw. This though…this was something new.

Hiccup sighed heavily as he stood to face her.

"I just never really thought it was all that much of a Viking-y thing to do, ya know?"

"You know… if you had showed this to everybody long ago we probably wouldn't have ragged on you so hard."

"I just…I know it reminded my dad of her… and I knew how much it hurt him to not have her around. So I just sort of, hid it." He fumbled around with the strap as he placed it over his shoulder. Astrid swooped in quickly, landing a kiss on his cheek.

"You shouldn't hide things like this about yourself Hiccup… it's what makes you…" she seemed at a loss for words as she motioned her hands at him. Hiccup smirked at her,

"…You just motioned to all of me." She nodded, grabbing his hand as the two leaned in for another kiss. Their lips, however, never met as the teens were snapped out of their intentions by a loud rumble.

"What was that?"

"Maybe it was just thunder?" Astrid said rather hopefully, looking up to the now dark sky.

Hiccup turned to Toothless who had jumped to his feet, growling in the direction of camp.

"Astrid, I think we should get back to the others…now." 

The trip back to the campsite was lightning fast from the back of Toothless, and the scene below took the breath out of the trio.

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><p><strong>Cliffhangerr! :D RxR dear friends! And keep your eyes peeled for chapters in this story as well as my other stories Like I said, I'm currently strapped for time for the next few weeks, but they shall be posted soonish!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! Finals are over! I thought I'd post up another chapter! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

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><p>The scene below was enough to stop the breathing of both teens, Hiccup even more so as Astrid's strong grip wrung around his waist, practically suffocating him. A large bright yellow dragon, unlike any they'd ever seen or heard of before, had already set ablaze the tent and several of the surrounding trees. The rest of the teens were hiding behind a large boulder, looking for a way of escape. Toothless quickly landed along with them, Astrid and Hiccup hurrying to hide as well.<p>

"Fishlegs?" Hiccup called out to the nervous teen.

"I-I don't even know. This thing isn't even in the dragon manual!"

"Can't you try?"

"uhm…uhh…" he peered around the rock, sizing up the dragon. He ducked the dragon's tail crashed down, destroying a boulder not too far from where they hid. "Attack nine times two…two sets of eyes for extra sight, double armored scales for extra protection…shoulder and tail spikes for extra defense-" a blast of fire shot out, setting more trees aflame. "-shoots fire."

"Where did it even come from?"

"More important; how are we gonna get away from it?" Ruffnut answered her brother's question with her own. A large cracking above sent their gazes upwards, a branch falling from the tree that stood by. The group had to quickly dodge away, ducking for cover at the next available boulder, just sneaking past the dragon's gaze as it watched the chunk of burning wood fall to the ground in a blaze of sparks. Fishlegs let out a slight whimper at the branch that now lay exactly where they had been standing just moments ago, thick enough to have crushed all of them.

"Well we certainly can't run from it! And Toothless can't carry us all at once-" before Hiccup could finish his sentence Astrid had curled her fingers into her lips, letting out a shrill whistle. Hiccup shot out his hand, clamping it over her mouth, catching her hand under his in the process.

"What are you doing? Do you want that thing to hear us!"

"Will you calm down? I'm calling in reinforcements." It was just seconds later that her faithful Nadder swooped in, unfortunately gaining the attention of the large dragon who sent another attack of fire hurtling towards their shelter. Astrid hurried to her dragon, dodging another falling branch.

"Bindy, take everyone back home...keep them safe." she turned to her friends, motioning for them to climb atop her dragon's back. She patted Bindy's nose, who cooed in response, lowering herself to let the rest jump on her back.

"We'll stay back here and distract this thing until we can get back too. Find my Dad, let him know what's happened." Hiccup was already in Toothless' saddle, waiting for Astrid. She jumped on behind him, locking her arms around his waist as they took off, setting to fly over the mysterious dragon. They hovered over the dragon, waiting for a good angle.

"Okay buddy….now!" Toothless sent a well-aimed shot into the dragon's neck, it's head snapping to them. With the distraction, Bindy kicked off from the ground, carrying the four other teens on her back. Even with her large size it was slower going than with just one or two passengers, but enough to get the teens away and to safety. Toothless flipped around, zooming off into the air for the dragon to follow. The enemy dragon threw his tail out, the ball coming down like a mace. With some fancy steering the trio evaded it, Toothless shooting another shot of lightning into the dragon's head, making it dizzy. It shook it's head, teetering. They took the opportunity to escape, rushing back home. 

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><p>"Dad!" Hiccup burst through the doors of the Mead Hall, Astrid close behind. He was relieved to see his friends there, clearly already having filled in Stoick like he had asked. The large Viking rushed to his son, giving both him and Astrid a thorough once-over. Satisfied that no one was missing any <em>more<em> limbs, he sighed, looking to his son.

"The dragon…where is it?"

"Toothless knocked it in the head a few times, so we got away. Dad this thing is….it's not one of our dragons. It's different."

"Do you think it came from somewhere else?" Astrid suggested, looking around the group.

"It's really the only explanation we've got. The question is though, from where?"

Stoick moved to lean over the large map that made up the middle table, running his hands over where their island lay.

"We haven't heard much of dragon attacks from the other islands close to here. So either it's from further out…or somewhere we have yet to visit." He ran a hand through his beard before dropping into his seat, his face lost in thought. "Son, do you think you could…draw up a picture of what this dragon looks like? Give us an idea of what we are up against?"

"Uhh…sure thing, Dad." Hiccup shrugged, surprised at his father's request. He shot a sideways glance to Astrid, gesturing for the door before walking out, Astrid close at his side. 

Back in Hiccup's house, Astrid dropped onto the foot of his bed, leaning back on her hands as she watched Hiccup sit at his own desk, digging out paper and a charcoal pencil, Toothless gladly taking a well-deserved nap near the fire.

"Okay, so clearly that thing isn't from here…but why did it attack us?" Her question went unanswered as Hiccup's pencil scratched along the paper, sketching out the basic body shape of the dragon, before adding the finer details. Lost in thought he hardly noticed that it had become completely silent in his room until he had finished.

He turned around, expecting Astrid to have left, fed up with his silence, but instead found himself surprised at Astrid sound asleep, stretched out across his bed. Smiling, he reached around for a fur blanket, laying it over her. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before tiptoeing downstairs to await his father's return.

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><p><strong>Aannndd the end! Just kidding, just kidding! The end for this chapter however. It's short, I know. But I think after all that craziness of running away, we needed a cute little fluff scene too :) <strong> 


	4. Chapter 4

**WOW! Summer is busier than I expected! Hope everyone is still around! :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<br>**

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><p><strong><strong>Hiccup was near considering going to sleep himself when his father finally walked in through the door, pinching the bridge of his nose. He sat in his chair with a thud, his voice low and exhausted.

"The men have agreed to come along and find this…thing. Do you have a picture?" he looked to his son who moved slowly, still surprised at the fact his father actually wanted him to draw. Stoick's eyes widened at the drawing of the dragon, looking at it's dangerous features.

"Dad…I dunno if it's such a good idea. I mean, this dragon…what if he's just like what our dragons used to be? A worker for something even bigger?"

"Son, I don't think that's what this was. I know it's nice to think that-" Stoick spoke over anything his son had opened his mouth to say, sighing before he continued, "but this was too random of an attack."

Hiccup was ready to disagree when a soft thudding of feet descending the stairs turned his attention. Astrid made her way to the table, sitting in a vacant chair, wrapping the fur more tightly around her shoulders, sleep still in her eyes.

"You should have woken me up…"

Stoick sent a suspicious look between the two, his gaze resting on his son who shook his head, relieving his father's suspicions. Astrid had been completely unaware of the exchange as she slid the drawing over to herself, stifling a yawn.

"That looks really good…so what's the plan?" her eyes turned on the chief, flashing with the excitement of a possible adventure.

"We leave to find this thing. I've already discussed it with the rest of the men, we leave in two days time. We'll go to Bashem first… then well..we'll take it from there."

"Dad, we don't even know how to defeat this thing! It could be suicide!"

"Hiccup, we don't have a choice. As chief it's my duty to protect this village-"

"Then I'm coming with you."

"Hiccup…" Stoick stared at his son, meaning to voice his refusal when Hiccup cut him off.

"Danger for a viking is just an occupational hazard right? If I'm going to be chief someday than I might as well start learning. That and I'm the only one of the men that's seen this thing, and without me and Toothless you probably don't stand a chance. I'm going."

Stoick knew by the determined look in his son's eyes that he was not going to win this battle. And, the gnawing voice in the back of his head told him that Hiccup was right. 

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><p>It was very early morning as the ships were loaded, fewer ships than normal as many of the men opted to ride on their own dragons. Hiccup strained his eyes through the dim light, looking around for Astrid and his friends. The rest of the kids, save for Hiccup, were ordered to stay home at Stoick's command. He said that it wasn't that he didn't appreciate what they had done before, but that he wouldn't risk losing any of them. The only reason Hiccup was coming was because of his vast stubbornness. A trait, Stoick was proud to say, had been inherited from he himself.<p>

They had been sailing all day, taking up anchor at a small island, when Hiccup, who had taken to walking along the deck of a ship to stretch his legs while Toothless napped, heard what sounded oddly like a sneeze coming from a crate. Slowly he opened the lid to see a head of blonde hair pop up.

"Astrid?"

"Hi…Hiccup." Astrid looked around the deck, and seeing no sign of her father in the cloudy moonlight, climbed out of her hiding place.

"I thought you were back home with the others."

"Well…I was. But then I decided I couldn't let you have all the fun." She smirked to him, that was until Hiccup's face fell in horror. She turned to see what had scared him so much and quickly wished that she had not. For towering over her was her very own father, his face twisted in anger.

"Astrid Hofferson!" his voice boomed across the water as he glared at his daughter. "I thought I told you to stay home." His voice lowered to a deadly quiet, which made him that more menacing. Astrid opened her mouth to apologize but he cut straight across anything she might have said.

"Completely disobeyed me. I have half a mind to send you back home on the back of a dragon if we didn't need them. I told you this was too dangerous a trip for you. You might be a good fighter Astrid, but yer not indestructible. If Hiccup weren't going to be chief one day even he'd stay home!" Hiccup felt his face burn red as he looked down and away from Gunnar, slowly bringing his gaze to Astrid, whose face was bright red, eyes threatening to burst with tears at any moment.

"I told you to stay at home and you deliberately disobeyed me! And all for what? I suppose adventure? To look tough! I thought I raised you better than to act so...stupid. I am very disappointed in you Astrid." And with that he turned, stomping off.

"Astrid?" Hiccup spoke quietly, his hand reaching out hesitantly towards her.

"Astrid...your dad just doesn't want you to get hurt... he's just angry..." sure, it seemed that simple in his mind, but he had a feeling it was somewhat more than that that was bothering Astrid. Either way, he could only hope that it would help her. "Astrid?"

It took her a moment to meet his gaze, clearly trying to keep her emotions in check by becoming interested in something on the floor. Hiccup gently touched her arm and that was where she met her breaking point. Half-slamming into his chest, Astrid began to cry. And it was then, for the first time ever that he could remember, Hiccup saw Astrid Hofferson's spirit break.

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><p><strong>Yowch...tough fatherly love? Or just a major jerk? Find out next! RxR :) <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Another chapter! Hurray! Apologies for taking so long, it's been so busy with life around here! I hope you all like this one!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<br>**

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><p>Night had fallen over the island they had chosen to make camp for the night, and all around fires were being extinguished as few by few the Hairy Hooligans went to bed. Astrid however, had spent the entire day in silence, staying away from the rest of the group and sat far off from the camp, leaning against Toothless' side, hidden from the rest. She had found his silent company comforting, doubly so when she had once more found herself in tears he had wrapped a wing over her, his arm wrapping around her in his dragon-version of a hug. Now she remained awake, taking in deep breaths of the clean air, watching the stars above blink. She had spent the rest of the day brooding over her disobedience, and over allowing herself to feel so weak. She let out a heavy sigh as she brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them before laying her forehead down on her knees.<p>

"Astrid?" the voice was quiet as it approached, and she needn't move to know who it was. She felt the body sit down next to her, an arm wrapping around her shoulders. Without a seconds' thought she curled into Hiccup's side, burying her face into his chest. He couldn't say he wasn't surprised by her action, but squeezed his arm around her more tightly all the same. He knew that, for right now anyway, Astrid did not want to be the strong one. It was also here, hidden behind Toothless, in the dark of the night, that the two felt most comfortable without the watching eye of the entire village; as if they were in their own little world.

"Why did I have to be so stupid? I shouldn't have come at all." Her voice came through, muffled from his shirt.

"You were being a Viking." He felt her sigh, her head drooping in defeat.

"Some Viking…"

"Hey, this was one time. You've seen how my dad used to be."

"He's always like that. I'm never good enough." Her voice was just above a whisper as she spoke. She had just barely moved her head to rest her cheek against his chest.

"What are you talking about? You're the best fighter at home."

"That doesn't matter. Oh sure, when I've done something better than someone else of course he's proud, but I can always be better…be faster, be smarter…nothing I do is ever good enough." Hiccup moved just enough to be able to look down at her, waiting for her eyes to meet his. Slowly, unsure of how she would react, he reached out a gentle hand, brushing her hair from her eyes.

"Astrid…that's ridiculous. Y-you're you're perfect. You shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise."

All was silent for a moment, nothing but the sound of the waves and Toothless' breathing could be heard. Astrid moved her arm to wrap around Hiccup's middle, resting her head once more under his chin as she hugged him.

"Thanks Hiccup."

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><p>The rest of the journey the next day was relatively short, and when the Hairy Hooligans made land on the island of Bashem, it was not a pretty sight to be seen. The forests that would always greet those who made port on Bashem were now nothing more than a pile of charcoal. The island appeared completely devoid of life.<p>

"Where's…anybody?" Hiccup asked quietly, looking up to his father who wore an expression of grief on his weathered face.

"There's no boats around. Let's hope, for their sakes, they escaped." Stoick sighed heavily, waving one of his thick arms forward, signaling they were to cautiously move ahead. "There might be survivors keeping shelter behind the mountains."

"Yer making it sound like everyone died." Gobber said as he fell into step with Stoick. The chief looked over to him, his face set firm.

"I have to be realistic." He looked back towards the mountains, sighing deeply. "We'll take the dragons, make a fly over of the area. Odin willing, whatever came through here is gone."

Once on dragon-back, it was much easier to make their way without piles of rubbish and charcoal under their feet. But the scene below did nothing to raise their spirits. Where once stood homes and buildings and trees was now black rubble. Astrid adjusted her hands on Hiccup's waist as she leaned over to look at the devastation.

"This is awful…it's just all gone." She leaned forward to rest her head against his back.

Slowly the group landed back on the shore, each wearing the same somber expression as the other.

"We can only hope they all made it out alive on the ships." He looked around at the now barren wasteland. "We can't stay here.."

"Then we'll keep going." It was Hiccup's voice that spoke out, and everyone turned to him, curious to know what plan he had. "We'll go to the Bog Burglars. We can stop off at Silence for sleep and keep going there from the morning. We can't let what happened here happen to them."

In his son's face, Stoick saw his own stubbornness mirrored back at him.

"He's right. Move out."

* * *

><p>The Hairy Hooligans had only just landed upon the shores of Silence when a terrible screech wrought the air.<p>

"_What_…was that?" Gobber looked around to the skies, as did the entirety of the group. From the dark abyss of the sky came a shot of fire that crashed into the ground with such force it shook beneath their feet. The dragons who had been brought along tensed up, fearful of threat that was coming. Stoick turned to the group, his eyes wide.

"Go! Take the ship and head out as fast as you can! Those with dragons: try and keep it off till they make it out more!"

The Hooligans jumped into action, those who had brought their dragons along jumping into their saddles, taking to the sky. Astrid had made to follow with Hiccup but he turned to her, placing his hands on her arms.

"Astrid, go with the others…"

"What? No way! I'm coming with you." From above came another screech and from above the yellow beast circled over, sending another stream of fire towards them.

"Astrid, please. Just this once…listen to me." He stared into her eyes and she knew by his grave expression just how serious he was.

"Just be careful out there Hi-" she was cut off as Stoick grabbed her from around the waist and lifting her up somewhat like a football plunked her onto a dragon's back, sending her off with another of the female Hooligans. He turned to nod to his son, clapping his shoulder.

"I'll circle the ship with a few of the men. You and Toothless; fight that thing off."

"You heard him buddy. Let's do this!" No sooner was he clicked into Toothless' saddle that they took to the air, climbing high above the rest. The yellow beast was already distracted by the set of dragons that had risen into the air. Toothless opened his mouth and sent his own attack into the creature's neck. It spun around and glared at them, growling loudly. From below Hiccup heard shouts of "go!" and watched as the rest of the tribe took off. The dragon below sent another attack their way and Toothless looped backwards, avoiding the attack with feet to spare. They flew higher into the air, the dragon behind them taking more time to gain height. With a quick spin, Toothless and Hiccup darted towards the beast below, the familiar whistling echoing through the air, before Toothless shot a bright purple attack at the dragon, sending it teetering back onto the ground. They flew over the top of it, heading after the group that was fading into the darkness. With a soft thud Hiccup and Toothless landed on the deck of the ship and after patting his best friend's head, Hiccup headed to his father who stood at the helm.

"I think we managed to keep it off for now. We'll have to keep traveling towards the Bog Burglars Islands. After that…"

"After that we hope the thing leaves us alone long enough to come up with a plan." Stoick looked to his son, the two nodding in resolve before looking back to the skies, aware of the trial ahead of them.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh our poor friends! Just trying to find an end to this beast and failing everywhere they turn! Next time we meet, we shall be landing on the Bog Burglars Island! Stay tuned! And be sure to leave me some lovely reviews They keep me motivated! <strong>


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